Placebo Effect

by digby

It might sound strange to some, but a new study published in the most recent issue of PLoS One may have turned the conventional idea of a placebo on its head. Researchers found that placebo pills benefited patients, even when doctors explained that they were only taking sugar pills.

“Until now, doctors have thought they had to lie about the placebo pill in order to tap into the effects,” said Dr. Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston. “But we said, ‘Let’s see if placebos can work when they’re applied in an honest way.'”

And, according to this study, it seems they did.

Researchers divided 80 study participants who suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, into two groups. One group received no treatment for their condition while the other received sugar pills that they took twice a day.

Three weeks later, 59 percent of study participants who knowingly took the placebos reported reduced symptoms and adequate relief for their IBS symptoms, while only 35 percent of the control group reported similar results.

The article goes on to say that 50% of doctors report that they give patients placebos (presumably lying to them) which is really surprising. (How do they do it — give them an envelope full of pills? Or do they prescribe something that won’t work for the illlnes, like antibiotics?)

I don’t pretend to understand this, but the mind works in mysterious ways and if the doctor can just say take two sugar pills and call me in the morning, I’d say it’s good news. It could certainly save some money.